Re: [seul-edu] Legal questions [was Re: They changed the site! (wasRe: [OS:N:] Donated PCs)

[Dave Prentice <dprentice@uno.edu>]

Maybe to be safe, the press release could (1) repeat Microsoft's statement
about it being illegal to change OS, (2) then say something like, "The
accuracy of this statement is highly questionable. Microsoft has not cited
any specific laws to support it."
Dave Prentice
prentice@instruction.com

-----Original Message-----
From: tom poe <tompoe@renonevada.net>
To: seul-edu@seul.org <seul-edu@seul.org>; Stephen C. Daukas
<stephen@daukas.com>
Cc: CommStudios <community_studios@lists.ibiblio.org>; Reno_Perl_Group
<renotahoe-pm@pm.org>
Date: Friday, May 03, 2002 12:03 PM
Subject: Re: [seul-edu] Legal questions [was Re: They changed the site!
 wasRe: [OS:N:] Donated PCs)


>Hi:  I have bought a computer with M$95 on it.  I now reformat the hard
drive
>and install Debian Potatoev2.4 on it.  I now reformat the drive and install
>M$98 on it.  Am I legally able to donate that computer to a school without
>the M$95 documentation?
>
>Give me a break!  . . . . .   Until they point to a specific law that
states
>unequivocally that there is a legal requirement, etc., their statement is
>FALSE.  And, it is important that that action [web page] must be retracted,
>in the name of preserving the concept of Donated Computers.
>Thanks,
>Tom Poe
>Reno, NV
>http://www.studioforrecording.org/
>http://www.ibiblio.org/studioforrecording/
>http://renotahoe.pm.org/
>
>
>
>
>On Friday 03 May 2002 08:21, Stephen C. Daukas wrote:
>> At 11:03 AM 5/3/2002, you wrote:
>> >Stephen C. Daukas wrote:
>> >>In my humble opinion, I think it is time to talk to folks
>> >>trained/practicing in this area of law (friends, family, etc.) before
we
>> >>make any representations about what is legal, what isn't, and what the
>> >>"grey area" does or doesn't mean, before we go after Microsoft
>> >> half-cocked. Steve
>> >
>> >Easy answer, we don't make any claims about what is legal.  We don't go
>> >after Microsoft.  We simply state that Free/Open Source software is a
>> >really nice way to utilize donated PC's and avoid problems with software
>> >license fees.
>>
>>    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>
>> Fine, if you are talking about Open Source in general, but the point of
>> this press release/response  that has been discussed here, so far at
least,
>> is to say that what Microsoft is doing is wrong, Microsoft's
>> representations of the facts are wrong or misleading, and GNU/Linux is a
>> way out.  If your are going to make that claim, especially in the name of
>> 70+ organizations, you should understand what the implications are and
you
>> had better be right!
>